Graduation has always been scary. But for the Class of 2025, graduation just got a little bit scarier. These seniors are leaving the frying pan for the fire, trading a University under federal attack for an economy in chaos. National hiring freezes have limited job opportunities for many hoping to work in the public sector or research. Delays to the Fulbright Program have disrupted many students’ dreams to study abroad. And plenty of idealistic students hoping to work on Capitol Hill have paused, given the current status of American politics.
This year’s Penn 10 profiles ten seniors whose postgraduate plans are tentative. Graduating without a job offer in hand, these seniors are braving a volatile economy and uncertain industries. Many of these seniors had already secured job offers, only to have had those plans disrupted by federal policy changes over the last few months. Others actively chose to take the less traveled path out of conviction and commitment to their ideals and passion. All agree, however, their freshmen selves could never have imagined their predicament.
These seniors are only a small subset of Penn students facing postgraduate instability. Street met many students facing personal barriers that prevented them from attaching their names to their stories. A number of seniors felt a sense of shame in admitting to their lack of concrete postgraduate plans. Many more, however, refrained from speaking to Street out of fear of their safety, government retaliation, or visa revocation. Recounting the stories of their friends and peers, these interviewees are part of a broader network of students at Penn grappling with a tentative future, unsure of what comes next.
